Contents
Why is lastlog a sparse file?
The lastlog file is created as a sparse file, so only the chunks of the file that are used actually take up physical storage space. So all the space really isn’t allocated. The file size just shows you how big the would would be if you tried to copy it or if you actually had 232 users.
Why is the VAR log lastlog file so large?
Answer. The file is a sparse file and is not actually taking up as much physical space as it shows. lastlog records the last login of each user. The large size merely shows you the potential size of the file if there were a maximum amount of users (around 2^32 users).
Can I delete var log lastlog?
Task: Clear last login information by deleting /var/log/lastlog. Press CTR+D to save the changes.
What is Varlog lastlog?
lastlog is a program available on most Linux distributions. It formats and prints the contents of the last login log file, /var/log/lastlog (which is a usually a very sparse file), including the login name, port, and last login date and time.
What is BTMP in var log?
The btmp log keeps track of failed login attempts. So first you want to make sure that the btmp log is rotated using logrotate with the below information. Log Location:/var/log/btmp, /var/log/wtmp To rotate the btmp log add the below to the logrotate. conf file located in the /etc directory.
What is Lastlog file in Linux?
The /var/log/lastlog file is used to store information about the successful logins to the host. On several versions of RedHat Enterprise Linux and Fedora, corruption in this file can cause the size to be misrepresented. This has no effect on the real space used by the file, as reported by the du command.
How do I find a sparse file?
Finding sparse files
- Use find command with “%S” to find each file’s sparseness.
- Value displayed in the leftmost column is (BLOCK-SIZE*st_blocks / st_size) which is normally less than 1.0 in case of sparse file.
Is there a reason why / var / log / lastlog is a huge sparse?
What I hence wonder is, what is the need/backgrounding motivation to have those files as sparse, huge files (in my case it was 1.1TB)? This is how it’s supposed to be. /var/log/lastlog is not a log file like /var/log/syslog, and its name should be read as “last logins list” rather than “last logfile”.
How to solve the problem of the lastlog file?
Go to Solution. 07-03-2008 11:27 PM 07-03-2008 11:27 PM 07-04-2008 05:38 AM 07-04-2008 05:38 AM That file is a log for sessions on your system, and you examine it by using lastlog. Every time a users login/logout from your system, the file is updated.
How big is the lastlog file size in GB?
The partition is 4G (/var/log), however ls -lh /var/log/lastlog believes it is 465GB (four hundred and sixty-five GB). However, a df -PhT /var/log shows only 65M (sixty-five MB) being actually used. The /var/log is on an xfs local file system.
How big is the lastlog partition in Red Hat?
The partition is 4G (/var/log), however ls -lh /var/log/lastlog believes it is 465GB (four hundred and sixty-five GB). However, a df -PhT /var/log shows only 65M (sixty-five MB) being actually used.